2D platformers are in a genre that is well represented on the various Nintendo platforms. This makes standing out from the crowd extremely difficult, and these are the problems that Canvaleon is facing. While it does plenty of original things, the whole charade falls hard on its face because of easily preventable mistakes.

The story of Canvaleon is a rather sad one. A poor newborn chameleon is rejected by friends and family for one simple reason: he can't change the color of his body. The poor fellows remains white at all times and he is seen as an outcast. He feels alone for a little while until he meets Doodle, who has the ability to paint any color on the chameleon's body. How that suddenly occurs we don't get to know, but he is granted the name Canvas. Peace seemed finally at hand in the village, but aliens attacked the home of the creatures. Now it is up to this unlikely hero to save the day!

Unlike most platformers you will see on the Wii U eShop, you can't really speed your way across the levels. You will have to sneak past the enemies to make any sort of progression. That sounds great in theory, but once again, Doodle has to make new disguises for him. You do this by collecting butterflies in the stage and creating the colors that you need. There is an option to purchase premade ones, but they are absolutely useless and don't help you to complete stages.

The idea of creating your camouflages seems interesting at first, but the game lacks any sort of direction or willingness to guide you through the process. You will have to remember the game's backgrounds and create the disguise perfectly from memory. If the color is only slightly off, you will get spotted instantly and all of your work will be for nothing. Managing the butterflies is also a worry, as you go through them insanely fast. To succeed you will have to replay levels over and over and this becomes boring quickly.

This is made worse by the fact that there is a big penalty for every small mistake. If you fall down to your death or get spotted, you will have to start from the very beginning. There are no checkpoints in Canvaleon and this makes finishing a painful endeavour. The good thing is that you can freely pick which level you want to play. There is nothing stopping you from choosing another stage and giving that one a shot instead. The game really tries to give you some sense of fun, but there are way too many hurdles to pass. It is unfortunate as the game does play really solid.

Canvaleon's presentation is well put together. It has a colorful look with a big range of goovy, adorable characters. The backgrounds are beautifully animated and it looks sharp on the big screen. The soundtrack will put you in a good mood and adds some more flair to the levels.

Canvaleon is a disappointing game. While it gives you some sense of freedom and good controls, the title's unforgiving nature makes this journey a very bitter one. You will constantly have to backtrack to previous levels to collect resources and these must be used to create perfect camouflages. You can't be off just a little bit or else you will have to start the entire process over. Add to that the one hit deaths and missing checkpoints, and you have a product that you will really struggle to complete.